Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) vs. First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) Financial Review

Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) and First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Equity Bancshares has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Western Financial has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Equity Bancshares and First Western Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equity Bancshares	$335.67 million	1.98	$62.62 million	$3.98	10.95
First Western Financial	$180.33 million	1.13	$8.47 million	$0.87	24.25

Equity Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than First Western Financial. Equity Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Western Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Equity Bancshares and First Western Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equity Bancshares	0	2	3	0	2.60
First Western Financial	0	1	2	0	2.67

Equity Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $48.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.17%. First Western Financial has a consensus price target of $23.33, indicating a potential upside of 10.58%. Given First Western Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Western Financial is more favorable than Equity Bancshares.

Profitability

This table compares Equity Bancshares and First Western Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equity Bancshares	18.66%	14.64%	1.31%
First Western Financial	4.70%	3.43%	0.29%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

71.8% of Equity Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.3% of First Western Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.0% of Equity Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 17.9% of First Western Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Equity Bancshares beats First Western Financial on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Equity Bancshares

Equity Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Equity Bank that provides a range of banking, mortgage banking, and financial services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts various demand, savings, money market, and time deposits. Its loan products include commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, commercial lines of credit, working capital, term, equipment and aircraft financing, acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, real estate construction, homebuilder, agricultural, government guaranteed, and other loan products. The company's loan products also comprise 1 4 family residential mortgages, agriculture, consumer, residential real estate mortgage, and agricultural real estate and production loans. It also provides debit and credit cards; insurance brokerage; trust and wealth management; online banking solutions, such as access to account balances, online transfers, online bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements; mobile banking solutions comprising remote check deposits with mobile bill pay; ATMs; and treasury management, wire transfer, automated clearing house, and stop payment services. In addition, the company offers cash management deposit products, such as lockbox, remote deposit capture, positive pay, reverse positive pay, account reconciliation services, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts, as well as banking services through telephone, mail, and personal appointments. It operates a network of branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Equity Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas.

About First Western Financial

First Western Financial, Inc., a financial holding company, provides wealth advisory, private baking, personal trust, investment management, mortgage lending, and institutional asset management services. The company operates through two segments: Wealth Management and Mortgage. The Wealth Management segment provides deposit, loan, life insurance, and trust and investment management advisory products and services. The Mortgage segment engages in soliciting, originating, and selling mortgage loans into the secondary market. It serves entrepreneurs, professionals, high net worth individuals or families, and business and philanthropic organizations. First Western Financial, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.